ZIMBABWE’S WAR ON CHARITY: HOW THE PVO LAW IS DESTROYING HOPE
The Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights has gone to the High Court to stop some very bad parts of the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Act. This law controls how NGOs and charities in Zimbabwe are registered, run, and funded. But this law is being used to attack people and groups who speak up for others, especially those fighting for human rights and helping the poor.
The lawyers are saying that this law is not fair and goes against Zimbabwe’s Constitution. The main people being taken to court are the Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and the Attorney-General.
The application says the law is too harsh. It says this law puts too many rules on groups that want to help others. It even makes it a crime to do human rights work. This is wrong.
The law is also stopping people from meeting freely, working together, and speaking freely. It breaks people’s right to property and stops fair treatment in courts. It gives too much power to one minister. This is dangerous and opens the door for abuse.
Some parts of the law are not clear. The words used are confusing. This means people do not know what is right or wrong. This makes it easy for the government to punish groups for anything. That is not fair.
This law lets one person – the Registrar – make big decisions without asking a board or any other group. The Registrar can accept or cancel a group’s certificate just like that. That is too much power for one person. And if someone is not happy with that decision, they have no way to appeal. That is not justice.
Another part of the law forces NGOs to reapply for permission if anything about them changes. That includes if they change office, change board members, or change the way they work. This is too much. It is a way to control and threaten groups that want to help people.
The law even allows the minister to remove a group’s leaders and replace them with trustees picked by the government. That is like hijacking an organisation. This is not how free groups should be treated.
The lawyers are asking the court to say that all these parts of the law are illegal. They want the court to remove section 4, section 5 (with section 9 (5)), section 6, section 13A, section 14, and section 21 of the PVO Act.
If these bad parts of the law are not removed, Zimbabwe will suffer. We will lose millions of dollars from donors and good people who want to help our poor and suffering people. Donors will not want to help if they know their money can be blocked or misused by the government.
NGOs are not the enemy. They are the ones helping with food, health, education, human rights, and disaster aid. But the government is treating them like criminals. This shows how ZANU PF is scared of free voices.
The truth is, ZANU PF wants full control of everything in Zimbabwe. That includes charity work. They fear anyone who helps the people or speaks the truth. That is why they made this law.
But the people of Zimbabwe are watching. We see what is happening. We will speak. We will fight back. And we will not stop until this bad law is removed.
The courts must act. Justice must win. If not, it will be the poor, the sick, the weak, and the voiceless who suffer the most.
Zimbabwe must choose: dictatorship or democracy. We cannot have both.
